In nómine Patris

Et Filius

Et Spiritus Sancti

Introibo ad altare Dei

Amen

I want to welcome all of you back

I hope that Christmas was a time of great joy for you and your families

Today is the feast of the Epiphany

The celebration of the arrival of the three wise men to pay homage to the baby Jesus

I want you to imagine what that journey must have been like

A journey resting entirely on faith that they would know where they were going once they arrived

Imagine what a joy it must have been for them to have finally reached their destination

Seniors, you're coming to an end of four years at St. Cecilia's

You've lived together, studied together, and, most importantly, prayed together

Strength for the journey

We begin in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit

Let us take a moment now to call to mind to those times when we've fallen from God's grace

I confess—

To almighty God, and to you, my brothers and sisters

That I have sinned through my own fault

In my thoughts and in my words

In what I have done and in what I have failed to do

And I ask the blessed Mary, ever virgin, all the angels and saints

And you, my brothers and sisters—

To pray for me, to the Lord, our God

Yes, pray for him, to the Lord, your God

One of these boys just ain't like the others

Loves his female singers

Loves to cook

Looks around in gym

It pleases him

Thoughts enslave him

Somebody save him

'Cause he knows that he is taking chances

And he knows that his romance is doomed

He'd sacrifice his soul to feed his vice

Heaven severed

Hell is forever

Dig down deep and save your soul

Grave mistakes will take their toll

Every sin is entered in

Heaven comes with discipline

But it doesn't all make sense

What I feel is real

No more dodging, God is watching

His eye is on the lowly sparrow

The road is long the path is narrow

And your mother, God, how she will suffer

Will your father break to bear the shame?

Yes, you were a force in their divorce

Trust the shepherd

God, make an effort

Will you drag that poor boy down there with you?

He's unsure and you can change his mind

If you love him so you'll let him go

Life is choices

Live by our voices

Dig down deep and save your soul

Grave mistakes will take their toll

Every sin is entered in

Heaven comes with discipline

But it doesn't all make sense

If the love is strong

No more dodging, God is watching

His eye is on the lowly sparrow

The road is long, the path is narrow

Our first reading today is the story of how

Despite the best efforts of a single mother

A child can still go horribly, horribly, wrong

Mom

For his eighth birthday, Peter asked for an Easy-Bake Oven

His father asked for a divorce

To me, the link between those two events

Was as strong as Peter's attraction to my makeup table

We sent him to Catholic boarding school thinking it might help

But when he met his roommate, Jason

The two of them locked eyes, and I said to myself

"Claire, you wanted grandchildren

Instead, you're gonna get ambiguous Christmas cards from South Beach"

Please join us in singing our offertory hymn

Number 279, "A Bender Among Us"

There's a bender among us, he must be exposed

He'll kidnap our children then take off their clothes

A bender among us, there's pink in our flock

A boy without conscience who's led by his—

Cockamamie

Pure cockamamie that this isn't a choice

Don't do this to me, Peter

The peace of the lord be with you always

And also with you

Let us offer each other a sign of Christ's peace

This is the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world

Happy are those who are called to this table

Lord, I am not worthy to receive you

But only say the word and I shall be

Lord, he is not worthy to receive you

Father?

Not at a funeral, Peter

I'd like to start with just a—

If we could take a moment

If maybe we were silent

Or we had spoken

Mom, what is it?

Ivy? Nadia? Matt?

Is it I, Lord?

Is it I?

(Timothy, Romans, Corinthians, Leviticus)

Hate the sinner, hate the sin (Timothy, Romans, Corinthians, Leviticus)

Created in His image (Timothy, Romans, Corinthians, Leviticus)

Abomination, abomination (Timothy, Romans, Corinthians, Leviticus)

Abomination, abomination

Bear the cross

Bear the cross

Bear the cross

Let us go forth, in peace to love and serve the Lord

Thanks be to God